special situations

A family owes $7.6 million of estate tax nine months after the founder's death, with $1.5 million of cash and a $30 million manufacturer. Selling a stake under the deadline gives up $9.4 million of value. Financing costs $1.68 million.

A buy-sell agreement settles who can trigger a sale and exactly what the shares are worth. It usually settles funding in one sentence naming life insurance, which pays on only one of the five events that can fire it.

Three United States public companies disclosed covenant amendments in 2026. Every creditor group said yes. One got a conditional bridge of a few months, another two years, a third nearly three. The breach severity is not what separated them.

Asset-based finance was estimated at more than $6.1 trillion on 2024 data and projected to reach $9.2 trillion by 2029. Inside it are mandates written for contracted and intangible cash flows rather than for hard assets.

Two principals began structuring on the same Monday. A $5 million facility against receivables closed in six weeks. A $30 million facility against mixed collateral took eighteen. Where the twelve extra weeks actually go.

A net 25 percent of surveyed lenders narrowed spreads on middle-market loans last quarter, and six of eight tracked terms moved the borrower's way. Complex, regulated, and non-sponsor situations capture that only if the file fits the mandate.

Single-family offices now drive 65% of NAV loan demand, and 85% of that borrowing funds acquisitions, not distributions. What the shift means for owners financing against a portfolio.

Direct lending now rivals the syndicated market at $1.5 to $2 trillion, but the majority flows to sponsor-backed deals. Why non-sponsor owners get declined, and what closes the gap.